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Foundation Supporting Children in Emergencies

Tue 28th February 2017

As one of Unicef’s partners for 9 years we have worked on various important projects connected to health and education and witnessed the difference our support can make to some of the world’s poorest children.

However, our new activity with Unicef UK’s Children’s Emergency Fund, more than any of our work so far, addresses the most vulnerable on our planet – children caught up in life-threatening emergency situations such as conflict and famine.

Unicef UK recently published a report into the work of the Children’s Emergency Fund throughout 2016 which shows the scale of the global crises facing the world’s children, from war and disease to drought and natural disasters.

In 2016, the Children’s Emergency Fund responded to the outbreak of the Zika Virus in Latin America and the worse drought in decades in Ethiopia. The Children’s Emergency Fund also helped Unicef to provide help and assistance to children caught up in conflicts in South Sudan, Iraq and Yemen. Sadly, these are just a few of the global situations that Unicef responded to in order to protect children in grave danger.

Since January 2016, over 173,000 children under the age of five were treated for malnutrition in Ethiopia and over 29,700 women in Latin America benefitted from Unicef’s supported interventions to prevent the Zika virus.

In Iraq, Unicef vaccinated 196,000 displaced children and reached over 521,000 with emergency access to safe water supplies whilst the charity worked with over 300 former child soldiers in Yemen to help them avoid re-recruitment and integrate back into their communities.

Unicef reached over 265,000 children with psychosocial support in South Sudan last year, where the killing and abduction of children and worsening levels of sexual violence are ongoing. Unicef also reached almost 17,000 people with child protection awareness events which included key information on gender based violence. Right now in South Sudan, Unicef is aiming to reach more than 200,000 children with treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

Unicef UK’s Children’s Emergency Fund provides vital support to all this crucial work for children. Such support allows Unicef to react quickly to emerging situations and get help to the children who need it most. Right now, around the world conflicts and disasters are putting millions of children in danger and we are proud to be supporting the Children’s Emergency Fund and helping Unicef to ease some of the suffering caused by global emergency situations.

Foundation Director Connal Cochrane commented,

"The 2016 Children’s Emergency Fund report makes for sobering reading. Millions of children are in danger through no fault of their own and the scale and number of situations the Emergency Fund reacted to last year shows just how vital the Fund is."

“The Foundation is delighted to be able to contribute to this work and be a force for good in the wider world. We know that current conflicts such as the war in Syria means that Unicef will have many more situations to respond to in 2017. With the number of child refugees rising by 77% in the last five years, and the associated health, education and safety problems that come with this, children will continue to need our protection and compassion and the Rangers Charity Foundation is proud to play its part.”